The Trembling Warmth
by JulietGivesUp
Summary: In which America and England find a little child in the street and try to raise it up. It would've been nice to just stay as one big, happy family, but they find out that they developed stronger feelings for their new country. AmericaXOCXEngland.
1. Ame

**My first Hetalia fanfic yay! I just finished watching the series last week and ever since then, I've been getting all these crazy ideas and stories to do about it. Mostly about my favorite characters, America and England. Well, mostly England. In any case, I hope you like it, one way or another. Please Review! **

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><p><strong>Ame<br>**

Rain and hail fell from the roof slates of an old office block. Every building in the compound had their window's shutters held fast and barred. Puddles of water began collecting in every dry crevices of the town. Hail stones were scattered all over the streets like tiny, little diamonds. Silence hovered the town with the occasional pitter pattering of the rain and hail. Thunder roared from the distance and a much stronger wave of hail hit the city. Two blonde men were seen bickering as they got out of a huge white building. One was wearing a green military uniform, while the other had a brown jacket that had the number 50 on the back. The gentleman (Iggy) and the dude (America) both opened their umbrellas and started on their trek to the parking lot.

"You bloody fool, why on earth did you decide to park the car all the way over there!" the British man shouted. "Now we have to walk all this way in the middle of this inferior squall!"

"Chill bro, a little walk in the rain won't kill ya. Besides, I had to park it there 'cuz it was close to Burger King. I got a little hungry on the way here," the more relax and optimistic man replied.

England sighed at his companion's idiocy and mumbled something about stupid Americans and their hamburgers. America, unsuspecting, whistled a cheerful tune as they walked. They were just about to turn around corner when England heard a little whimper by the alley. He stopped mid-step and looked back at where he had heard the sound. America also paused and stops whistling sensing that his partner had stopped walking.

"Hey America, look over there," England said pointing a little figure against the wall of the alley. America curiously prodded in closer as England walked up to the little silhouetted figure. It was wearing an oversized black cloak but he could tell that this person had been through a lot judging by how worn out the cape and the soles of person's shoes were.

England removed the hood to get a better look at the being. The cloaked figure flinched a little bit and a flash of soft raven blue hair flowed down on the figure's soiled, little cheeks. Its eyes were shut closed as it burrowed in on its filthy, damp cape.

"Why, it's just a little child!" England said bewildered. America came in for a closer look.

"What are you doing in a place like this all by yourself, kid?" America asked loudly, holding his umbrella over the already drenched kid.

The child, with its eyes still shut, cringed and held its skinny arms on its head as if preparing for a smack or a slap. "I-I'm s-sorry. Please d-don't hit me. I'm so s-sorry!" it whimpered.

"Shut up, America, you're scaring the poor little chap with your earsplitting babbling!" England whacked America's head with his open umbrella and looked back at the cowering child.

The kid started shaking uncontrollably; England didn't know if it was from fear or from its freezing condition. America apologetically removed his jacket and wrapped it around the child's trembling body. Surprisingly, it stopped shivering and slowly peeked at the two strangers who offered it. America and England stood, captivated by the child's cloudy gray orbs fearfully, yet innocently observing them.

Finally breaking the unwavering silence, America crouched down by England and gently patted the little kid's head. "Well, we can't just leave him here. We could take him to my house for a warm dinner. What do you say, Igirisu?" he said directing a hopeful smile to the other blonde. England nodded and carefully stretched out his arms at the child to pick him up. "It's absolutely not safe to leave a little boy out here in the cold. You should come with us. We'll take care of you, I promise."

The child seemed to have trusted his words, for it willingly let him pick the child up without a struggle. England lifted the child up into his arms. The child didn't even feel like it weighed anything. Its little hands clutched England's collar for comfort and laid its head down on the strange man's shoulder. America held his American flag umbrella over their heads as they continued walking to the parking lot with a little being that would change their lives as we know it.

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><p><strong>Well, that's the first chapter, right there...Umm...I just made this this morning and I dont have a lot to do today, so I'll continue making the 2nd chapter today...If I feel like it...hmm...we'll see... Please Review and tell me what you think about it so far. <strong>


	2. Koi

**Hello again! I am kinda frustrated right now...I just finished editing this story and I accidentally pressed the 'Go Back One Page' button. Arrrgghhh! Im soooo stupid! -.- I'm too lazy to do them again (its like 1 am in here) so I'll just leave the story as it is...hopefully the grammar isn't too bad. Yup, so enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Koi<strong>

England got out of the car shielding the sleeping child in his arms from the relentless hail. America adjusted his jacket on the child so that it would cover its head safe. The two men dashed to America's front porch to escape the rain. Once they were under the porch's overhanging, America fumbled for his house keys.

After a couple of minutes of searching, England grew impatient. "Be quick about it, will you? We're freezing our arses here!" He held the bundle closer to his body to provide it with some warmth.

"Yeah, yeah. Hold on a sec. I think I got a spare somewhere around here…hmm…there it is!" The young male stood on his tippy-toes to reach the key on the door's upper ridge.

"There we go!" gleamed America holding up the key to his house. England let out an exasperated sigh. "Open it already!"

America unknowingly twisted the door open without using the key. "You bloody twit! The door was open the whole time!" England ranted. America shrugged it off and quietly took the child from England. He walked inside his three-story house and let the door swing close behind him with England still outside, taking his shoes off.

"Hey-!" yelled the angry British man before the door closed in on him. America flicked the lights on and calmly placed the kid on his favorite couch. He grinned and ignored England's protests outside and started the stove for dinner. Fifteen minutes later, England burst into the house holding a hair pin lock that he cleverly made himself. Shivering, he threw it at the American along with some British curses that nobody could have translated nor understood. America couldn't suppress a chuckle and began laughing hysterically.

"Oh, shut up." England peered from behind America at the frying pan. "What on earth is that?" he pointed at the…food America was…preparing.

"Philly Cheese Steaks," America brightly answered.

"Cheese…steaks? You can't be serious. What? So now the alternative for the bloody sandwiches you Americans call 'hamburgers', is cheese carved to look like steaks!" England rolled his eyes. "Very healthy, Alfred. Very healthy indeed..."

America ignored England's very rude but true comment and began humming to 'My Country 'Tis of Thee.'

England paused and turned pale. "You most certainly don't expect that kid to eat that garbage…are you?"

America turned back to look at the petrified British. "For your information, my food is NOT garbage what so ever. And of course, he'll eat it. For all you know, he'll probably love it! Oh god! I can't wait till I introduce him to hamburgers. Oh! And pizzas! Oh! And double large fries, oh! And milkshakes. Oh, and barbecue sauce, can't forget about BBQ sauce! Oh, and blah blah blah…" America ranted on about what he would feed to the little fellow.

England, however, was in the border of insanity. He picked up a pot and some pans and rushed to the refrigerator. "I must save this innocent child's life by making better food!" And so, the two ridiculous countries raced on to make the best, most delectable, mouthwatering food ever in the history of the Hetalia world…with their horrible cooking skills.

Meanwhile, in Mr. America's couch, the little toddler shifted from all the noise coming from the kitchen. It tried to ignore them at first, but after a while, the racket became too unbearable for sleeping conditions.

The child sat up and took in its surroundings. Ancient war campaign ads covered the walls of the living room as well as the American flag in various sizes. A large flat screen tv was attached to the center of the wall facing the couch. Video games and consoles littered the floor. Candy wrappers and sodas were strewn across the room in a fashion in which you couldn't walk without stepping on them. Nevertheless, the room had a homey feeling to it and smelled lightly of vanilla and cinnamon.

The toddler finally decided to get down from the humongous couch and explore the gigantic mansion. Well, in a little kid's perspective. The toddler searched up and down for the owner of the house and the jacket that was wrapped around its shoulders when it woke up. Suddenly, a thick aroma wafted into the room. It steadily followed the smell and was led to the kitchen. The child held on to the wall's edge and peeked in. There, it saw two men holding gleaming silver serving trays. They seemed to have been fighting over something.

"Oh no, I hope I haven't done anything to upset them. They're such nice people, I don't want to be a trouble so soon," the child guiltily pondered. It was about to leave when the two Englishmen noticed the child.

"Hey where are you going little chap? We're –cough America is cough- sorry for waking you. Don't be afraid little fella. Anyways, I hope you're hungry. It's time for supper!" England said cheerfully, gesturing the kid to the table with his free hand.

"Yeah, don't be afraid of Iggy's eyebrows," America said following England's examples. England still smiling, tried not to kick America's ass, as he led the confused child to the table. They placed their serving trays on the table and each opened it slowly.

"Ta~da!" America and England said in unison.

"I prepared a terrific and most certainly ace dinner for you, chap. I present your dinner. For appetizer I made some delicious blueberry scones. They taste heavenly, do try one? As for the main course; Toad in the Hole! However, this is NOT just your ordinary Toad in the Hole. I took the extra step of using fresh eel and urchin, specially ordered from Japan, instead of sausages and potatoes. I do hope it fits to your liking. There's a jar of marmite, if you would like some. And last but most certainly not the least, I made some English trifles and black pudding. Isn't that gobsmacking delicious!"

"I made a totally MORE…umm…ace dinner for you, dude. It's got all my favorites! I made the Philly Cheese Steak evolve into pizza steak! Which is generally a cheese steak topped with pizza sauce and mozzarella sticks. Oh, yeah, and there's a bowl of barbecue sauce by it. For the sides, there's extra greasy curly fries, just how I like it. Top that off with a strawberry milkshake and you're good to go. Oh, and of course, you can't forget about dessert. Funnel Cake! With extra whip cream!"

"Grub's up, mate!"

"Dig in, broham!" (I'm guessing you know who said each line)

The transfixed toddler stared apathetically at the trays. The two men waited in anticipation for the child's next actions. It picked up a spoon and a fork and slowly started on America's funnel cake, then onto England's scones, then into the pizza hamburger thing, then to the frog in a hole pit thing, and by the time the two men could utter another word, the dishes were licked clean.

The toddler let out a small burp and gave an uncertain look at the chefs. There was a long period of silence and a heavy atmosphere. In fact, the atmosphere was so thick that the child felt like crying, and was about to when England lifted it up and spun happily.

"This chap ACTUALLY loved it! Oh mercy, this is the happiest day of my life!" England cried spinning around in happy circles.

"Dude! This is soo badass! I finally found someone who understands my taste buds!" America stole the child from England and spun around in his happy circles.

The toddler did not understand why these funny men were so happy, but seeing them happy created a delightful bubbling on its soul and so it giggled. For the first time, during its not so very long life, it finally laughed. The two men paused their happy parade and watched the giggling child. They watched in complete wonder as the child's mouth was pulled up into a happy curve, a loveable chuckle escaping its tiny little lips.

"I'm so lucky to have such an adorable baby brother~!" they exclaimed in unison. England wiped away some whip cream from the kid's cheeks. "Now all you need is a bath." He turned to America. "America, give our little brother a bath, will you? I'll stay and clean up here." He placed it down. "Hurry along."

"Roger!" America said with a salute. He led the muddy toddler to the bathroom with an enthusiastic, "Man, I can't wait to show you my rubber ducky collection!"

Smiling, England rolled his eyes and stacked the plates into the sink. He started the water and scrubbed the dishes while he daydreamed about getting his new little brother country to hate France with him. Ah, England could just see the rivalry against them and France.

And that's when he heard, "AAHHHHHHHH! IGIIIRIIISUUUU! C-COME OVER HERE!"

England almost dropped the plate he was scrubbing. He released his second exasperated sigh of the day and made his way to the bathroom.

"Seriously America? Can't even properly give a child a ba-" England stopped mid-sentence from pure shock. He shared the same frozen expression as America, as he found out that his adorable baby brother…was, in fact, actually a baby sister.

England gave out yet again, another sigh, as he dried his new little sister's hair. She sat there beside him obediently as he dried her hair with a towel. America came back to the room holding a white dress shirt.

"Ahh…I couldn't find anything in my closet smaller than this," he said scratching his head awkwardly.

"It'll have to do for now." England took the large clothing and dressed the little girl in it. It was fairly big on her, the collar slipping on her petite shoulders and the sleeves were so long that it hid her hands; the shirt went pass her knees. The happy little girl ran out of the room in her new attire.

England and America hesitantly looked at each other not saying a word.

"So…what now?" America finally said.

"I suppose we could ask Hungary or Belgium to take care of her…" replied England despondently. There was another long pause. Neither of them wanted to abandon the child.

"No way man! We promised to take care of her. That specifically includes you!" America declared. England grimaced at the comment America made.

"But we can't just take care of her! For goodness sakes, she's a girl, America. She's not like us. Besides, what can we do? We are one of the largest, most powerful countries in the world. We don't have time to look after a little girl," England retorted trying to disguise the pain from his voice.

America looked at the ground and contemplated. "So basically, you're saying that you want to throw her back to that miserable alley…"

"Look America, it's not like that…it's just that-"

"No, I understand England…" He looked up firmly at England, "…but I am absolutely not the type of man who would break his promises, much less leave a little country out in the cold. I'm staying by her side whether you break your promise or not," the young American finished. He was about to leave England when the British man spoke up.

"What makes you think I'm the type of man that would break promises? A proper gentleman never breaks his promises, you buffoon. And don't even try making yourself look cool and heroic from now on. I'll be that child's hero, just watch me," England smirked cockily. America smiled and retorted, "We'll see about that!"

The little country popped out of nowhere and placed the book on England's lap.

"Read? Pwease?" she pleaded, tugging his sleeves. England let out a hearty laugh as the child shoved the book at his face. America joined them in the couch.

"Okay, okay. Let's see… 'The Little Engine that Could'," England looked at America trying to stifle a laugh. "You still have this?"

"H-Hey! It was a good story…" sputtered the immature American.

"Pfft. I remember reading this to you when you were little."

"Hmph, whatever…just read the frickin' story, bro."

"Blimey, you know, this feels so de ja vu from when I raised you…"

"Shut up and read."

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><p><strong>Woohhoo! 2nd chapter is published! :'D How was it? Not too horrible I hope :P<br>**

**This chapter actually took a bit of a long time. I know it doesn't look like much, but it did. Mostly because I was searching up American and British slangs and such. I'm American (well, not really I am technically an Asian person living in US) but that doesn't necessarily mean that I don't know my own country's slang. It's just that I speak normal English,unlike America. It was fun searching up the British slangs. I didn't put as much as I wanted to in the story. TT-TT Oh and the Best part of the story, searching up the foods! Although, most of the food I wrote about were slightly exaggerated. Except America... Anyways, thank you for reading! And one more thing, HELP ME NAME THE NEW COUNTRY! IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE A REAL COUNTRY, JUST A REASONABLE NAME. I wracked my brain for one, but I couldn't think of a single one. D:  
><strong>


	3. Anki

**Third chapter, yay! I've never really written this far into a story. I'm hoping to keep going to the end.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Anki<strong>

America and England woke up from a small hand gently tugging their night shirts. Sunlight seeped in from the slightly opened window shutters. Outside, the sky was painted a beautiful burst of blue. Birds and little animals twittered animatedly, as if revived from the previous night's shower. America's lawn sparkled; dewdrops still imbedded on the grass sparkled as the sun's rays reflected it. The ground was still wet and fresh from the downpour last night, and the chilly air still hung around the atmosphere. Yet somehow, the morning initiated a calming, familiar vibe.

The two men shifted in bed to look at the raven haired toddler between them. Her eyes graciously peered back at them with a look of discontent. She knitted her eyebrows faintly muttered, "Hungry…" She charmingly demonstrated by rubbing her stomach. England and America gave their individual chuckles.

"Well I guess it's about time we get out of bed," America said putting his Star Wars house slippers on. England let out a yawn and stretched out his arms.

"Hmmm…I suppose so. It's already past dawn and time for breakfast." The little country's face lit up at the mention of food. America grinned and playfully swiped her on his back. "Alriiiiiighty, brace yer self, little fellar. Super Cowboy America Man'll haul you to the scullery, ya hear?" The toddler giggled, nodded excitedly and held onto America's shoulders.

"Let's skedaddle on outta here then! YEEEHAAAAAW!" And with that, Mr. Super Cowboy America Man clobbered out of the bedroom with his passenger echoing out "Yeehaws". England who was left behind to fix the bed, muttered, "Kids…" Nonetheless, he beamed and followed the two.

"Now let's see, what should we have for breakfast?" America pondered loudly. He placed the child on the counter top and rummaged through his gigantic pantry and fridge.

"Well looky here, I got some pancake mix. How 'bout some flapjacks for breakfast, kid?" She eyed the mix curiously but nodded anyways. England walked into the kitchen then and took the child off the counter. She ran to the table and patiently waited for her caretakers to bring food. Wondering if he should even bother to ask, England went into America's pantry and took out a package of Earl Gray Tea. He scoured for a teapot to boil water in. Finding none, he turned to America.

"America, I can't seem to find the teapots. By any chance, do you know where they are?"

America snorted sarcastically, "Who needs teapots? This is the 21st century, bro. There's a thing (I invented) called a microwave. Plop in some water and tea, push some buttons, and by the time you know it, it's done," he said in a rather matter-a-fact tone. "Oh, and make me some coffee. Tea won't be able keep me up for the rest of the morning and I certainly don't wanna end up being a cranky grouch like you," he added.

"I know what a bloody microwave is, you wanker. And at least I'm not a hyper, caffeine addict like you!" England shrieked.

"Yeah, yeah…pancakes are done!" He triumphantly flipped the last pancake and distributed a stack on each plate. The little country clapped her hands. The food smelled so good! England placed a cup of milk by her plate and sat down himself.

"Now all we need is some maple sy-rup…" America tried squirting what ever remained in the maple syrup bottle. England and the child stared at America unamused.

"It's obviously empty. Way to ruin breakfast, America. I mean, seriously, how could you possibly eat pancakes without syru-?" England's sentence was cut short due to Canada's sudden outburst into the kitchen.

The young Canadian that looked appallingly similar to America collapsed on the floor, breathing hard and exhausted.

"Hey there Canada! Nice of you to stop by so early. Whattup man?" greeted America indifferently. England sipped his tea and politely addressed the man.

"Mr. America -huff- how dare you –huff- wipe out –huff- my country's entire -huff- beaver population!"

Canada screeched and held up a fancy beaver cap to America's face. He shakily pointed at America and tried his best to look threatening and angry. However, the Englishmen mistook his efforts and interpreted that he was constipated** (sorry I just cannot imagine Canada looking angry).**

"Bathroom's across the hallway, bro. Let it all out in there," America nodded and resumed squeezing the bottle.

"No, you jerk! That's not what I meant…" Poor Canada waved the road kill hat at America again. America was taken back and looked sympathetically back and forth at Canada and the hat. Canada let out a sigh of relief. He finally understood! The hopeless American finally understood him!

"Fabulous, aren't they? I made sure the manufacturing and the source itself was top quality and authentic. Man, they're selling like hot cakes in Europe!" the hopeless blonde replied with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Yeah, even I own one. They're hunky-dory during the winter." England showed off his very own 'authentic' beaver skin cap.

The Canadian stood baffled, his mouth open at the two heartless men.

"How could they say all those things so merrily? The beavers are dying because of over poaching and an idiotic Englishman thinks of it all as 'hunky-dory'? Canada is the home of the beavers for pete's sakes! I don't care if you _are _America. Today you are going down!" Canada cried...or at least he was about to, when America rudely reached into his jacket pocket.

"H-hey! W-hat are you doing, A-America!" the inaudible blonde stuttered. America pulled out a jug of maple syrup from Canada's jacket.

"Hahahaha! I always knew you carried one or two jugs of maple syrup with you, Canada."

"Thanks a bunch, Canadia. Now we can continue on with our breakfast," England said thanking the speechless Canadian and snatching the jug of maple syrup from America.

England poured the gooey goodness all over the little country's three foot stack of pancakes. She eyed it incredulously as England handed her a knife and a fork. Then, she stabbed about four stacks of pancakes and devoured it in one enormous bite. The hungry child continued wolfing down plates after plates of America's famous pancakes. England watched in disbelief for a couple of seconds then scavenging some for himself before it was all gone.

America suddenly grasped Canada's back. "Speaking of maple syrup, I'm willing to stop hunting for your beavers if you give me all your country's supply of maple syrup. Deal?" Canada could only nod as the pressure on his right shoulder increased.

"That's wicked awesome, bro. Now why don't you join us for breakfast? There's plenty left." America directed an unwilling Canada to a chair and sat on his own. England was already scarfing down as much pancakes as he could get before the pancake-devouring-child got to them first. So much for being a gentleman…

America handed a plate to Canada and dug in himself. Canada shifted in his chair uncomfortably before deciding to eat too.

Much to his dismay, a little girl took his plate of pancakes before he could even insert his fork into them. And that's when he noticed that there was a little girl sitting in the table the whole time he was here.

"Hey America, am I just imagining it, or is there really a little girl wolfing down insanely huge amounts of pancakes faster than the eye could blink across the table from me?"

"Naw, she's real. Iggy and I found her yesterday in the rain, so we decided to take her in. Ahh…can't wait till she grows up to be strong and heroic like me!" America sighed and chugged down the rest of his coffee.

"No way in bloody hell, am I going to let her become someone like you," said England heatedly. He wiped his face and smirked haughtily. "If anything, she'll grow up to be a high class nation, honorable to be part of Great Britain." A long, awkward silence followed after. England realized what he said and bit his tongue.

Canada cocked an eyebrow at England. "So you're saying that you're raising her to become one with you in the future?" Canada asked.

"N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean-"

"Oh yeah! Well, I won't let a douche like you turn her into a kilt wearing sissy that likes to speak to non-existing friends, WHILE also keeping in mind that he has no actual ones in reality."

"How dare you insult flying mint bunny and the rest of my friends! And for your information sir, kilts are very manly! And…and at least I'm not a psycho that has an alien for a household pet and goes around screaming, 'the alien apocalypse is coming!' like a total arse!"

"But it's true! Tony told me so!"

"Ha! In your dreams, you overweight superman!"

"King Arthur of the Eyebrows!" America retorted.

As the two countries continued on with their heated argument, Canada began slinking away towards the door. Just before he was about to reach for the door knob, he heard little fits of giggles behind him. He looked back and saw a tiny raven-haired toddler playing with his polar bear. Canada eyed her in surprise. He didn't even notice that Kumajirou followed him all the way to America's house. The girl hugged the small white bear and played with its ears. It licked her nose fondly in return and purred like a cat. Canada could only smile and crouch down to greet the little girl.

"So you're a new country, huh? My name's Canada, but you can call me Uncle Mathew." As a response she held the 90-pound polar bear and grinned childishly.

"Ehh…I see you got America's super strength…," he said alarmingly. Canada picked up his heavy friend from the little girl's arms.

"Ma-Ma-te-yuu…Mathew!" she stuttered.

"Haha, that's right! I'm Mathew!" Canada said happily. "And this little fella here is Kumajirou." He pointed to the polar bear, which waved in return. The child squealed with glee and clapped her hands. "Mathew! Mathew! Mathew! Mathew!" Canada laughed and patted her head.

"Gosh, I really have to go soon. I have an important meeting to attend," he said staring at his wristwatch. He stood up and put his boots on.

"Bai bai Matchu!" the girl said waving her arm.

"I'll see you around…umm…kid," Canada replied before quietly closing the door.

America suddenly popped into the room. "Did Canada just leave?"

The toddler nodded, "Bai bai Matchu!"

"Oh sweet, you learned his name! Okay, now try saying mine. Ah-Meh-Ri-Kah!" America said slowly mouthing out his name in syllables. She stood there staring at the goofy adult unresponsively.

"C'mon. Ahhh-Mehhh-Riiii-Kaahh! America!" he gestured. Finally, the child answered by pinching America's cheeks and stretching them.

"Hey!" America blubbered; his handsome face was being torn apart by the little girl's strong grip. England came rushing in from the kitchen.

"We don't have time for dilly dallying, America! We're gonna be late for the World Conference if we don't get moving," England stated. The girl released her grip on America's cheeks and ran up to England. He gingerly picked her up and brushed some of her bangs away from her eyes.

"Oww…that freakin' hurt…" America cradled his beloved face with his hands.

"Hmm…I reckon we can't just leave you here all alone," England said heading to the bathroom. He continued, "I guess you'll just have to come with us…"

In a little over an hour, the kid was strapped into a car seat and the newly founded family drove off to the countries' world meeting.

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><p><strong>Well, that's that. Nothing much really happened in this chapter. Sorry<strong> **=_=''''''**

**Looking forward to making the next one, though. Hopefully I can include all of the countries in there. If you have a character you want me to specifically introduce to the little OC, please do tell me. I've only got ideas for Italy, Spain, Romano, and...France. Yes, France will be included, but only (hopefully) just this once. My cousin just loves him so yeah... Oh and before I forget, NO BEAVERS WERE ACTUALLY HARMED IN THIS FIC. **


	4. Ikken

**4th Chapter! Hooray! ﾟ ヮﾟ Sorry for the slow update! This chapter seems (for me) a lot longer than usual...but I had fun writing this. I had a few laugh out loud moments and thousands of ideas. I didn't put them all in here though 'cuz like I said, it already felt to long for me.  
><strong>

**Anyways, I apologize in advance if I ruined the dialogue/persona of some of the characters, especially Hong Kong. I don't know much about him/her. Nevertheless, I had a blast researching things about the countries. I'll stop talking now... Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Ikken<strong>

The cheery toddler walked hand in hand with America and England. She stared in awe as they approached a huge, white building; the same one that the two men had departed from last night. America and England swung her up into the steps and she laughed merrily. At last, they came to a corridor that had dozens of doors on each side. They walked to the farthest one on the right.

"This is gonna be awesome! Today, you're gonna see your big bro live in action during his job. Hahaha! You might even learn a thing or two!" shouted America. England rolled his eyes and opened the door. They were greeted by a mass of animated countries quarreling and some even frolicking around the room.

Germany was in his usual place yelling at everybody to shut up. Spain and Romano were bickering about the best ways to serve tomatoes. France was very busy observing himself on his handheld mirror, while Greece dozed in the chair beside him. Russia was having a friendly chat with Austria and Switzerland while writing down 'rule the world by noon next week' on his sunflower designed checklist. Canada was patiently sitting in a corner being invisible to everyone, and China was showing off his ancient martial art techniques to Hong Kong and Japan. He broke a couple of vases and chairs in the process, and Hungary good naturedly swept the mess up.

The toddler glanced around nervously and held onto the two countries' hands tighter. Sensing her uneasiness, England smiled and patted her head to assure her.

"Sorry for running a bit late today. Anyways, have no fear, America the hero is here to make it all better," America exclaimed making his way to his assigned chair.A few 'oh great, it's that guy again' could be heard around the room. Canada applauded courteously in the sidelines.

"Well, iz about time you two got here! Olzo (Although), I don't think it would have made a difference, non?" France said combing his elegant locks.

"Hmph! I can say the same for you, homo horse," sneered England. He still had the child in his hands but he was ready for a fist fight with the Frenchy any day. Several countries let out a sigh and continued on with their business.

"Aru, who is that?" questioned China. He gestured to the little girl huddling behind England.

"It looks like a child…" Japan answered looking carefully at the figure.

"Thanks for the statement Captain Obvious," Hong Kong replied in an indifferent tone. Japan decided to ignore Hong Kong's comment.

"Umm…if you do not mind me asking, England-san, who is that child with you?" asked Japan.

"Oh, she's a new country that America and I found last night."

This spiked everyone's attention, especially France and Spain's. All of the big shot countries, except Greece who was still in a state of unconsciousness, turned to look at the child. She quickly hid herself behind England's leg hoping that the intimidating adults would not see her.

France squatted down to the floor. "C'mon mon cher, let Francis have a better look at you," France said holding out his palm. This only made her more nervous and she withdrew farther away from him.

"Let me have a go at it," Spain replied optimistically.

"Come on out, mi amigo! I'll play some flamenco music for you," he said pulling out his favorite guitar and over-sized sombrero. However, before he could utter a single note, Romano diligently duct taped his mouth shut.

"Not again, stupido. You already bled my ears out on the ride here."

Hong Kong stood up and walked over to the two. "You know, research say that little kids can sense malice from twisted grown-ups...," Hong Kong stated and plugged her ears.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, Hong Kong!" France and Spain screamed in harmony. Spain had a hard time doing so because of the duct tape on his mouth. Romano applied another layer just to be safe. England cackled at Hong Kong's statement nodding his head.

"Hmm…I will try my best," Japan said. He took out a bunch of mangas, anime DVDs, voice actors, and video games from his handy backpack.

"Hey! That's totally not fair Japan, aru! Of course the kid will go to you, aru. You're winning her over with the things people only like you for, aru!" China and the other countries hollered.

"Is that not the whole purpose? A-And my anime and games are not the only reason people like me. M-My culture and-"

"Yes it is bro. Sorry…" America sympathetically cut off Japan's sentence and patted him the shoulder. At this, Japan entered a state of depression and began miserably sulking in a corner.

"Don't worry Japan, I still love you!" Italy tried comforting Japan while being immersed in a game of Pac-Man with Romano.

"Get the red urchin thing, fratello!" Romano insisted.

Canada walked over to the crowd of people surrounding the little country.

"Why don't I give it a try?" he whispered sheepishly. Laughter erupted from France. "Honhonhon…What makes you think she'll come to you, mon ami?"

The little girl peeked from behind England's leg recognizing Canada's gentle voice. Convinced that it was certainly him and not the creepy guy with the strange accent, she jumped away from England and into Canada's open arms.

"Matchu! Matchu! Matchu!" she giggled looking up at the familiar face of the Canadian. Kumajirou nudged the child's hand onto its head. She stroked its long silvery fur lovingly. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon," smiled Canada.

France and Spain's jaw connected with the ground. Italy and Romano looked up from their game. "You've met before?"

"Hehe, just this morning actually," Canada responded basking in the attention he was finally getting.

"Ce! That is not fair! Why does she come to you but not me! I'm obviously prettier and more attractive than you. It's only common sense, that kids would go for the more beautiful things in life, such as moi, of course," France said dramatically whipping his hair to the side.

"Come 'ere mystérieux fillette."

"Get your perverted hands off of her France!" America yelled from across the long conference table. He was about to run around to the other side but he presumed that crawling over the table would provide a better shortcut. "Hold on kid! Big bro's comin' for ya!"

France snatched the child away from Canada and looked at her straight in the eye with his bright blue ones. He met the child's docile, gray eyes reflecting everything from his soul. A wave emotion, familiar yet intangible, hit him. He studied the young girl's face. Her round cheeks were naturally flushed pink. Stormy blue hair covered her tiny little head in lovely tresses right down to her cheeks. Her lips were set into an anxious pout as if she was deciding whether or not to hate this ridiculous man.

France was silent for a couple minutes, a very strange phenomenon for the pompous man. The countries stared intensely at the French man and worried for his well-being, well not really, for all they cared, he could just drop dead in a ditch somewhere.

"Why..." France began faintly.

"…elle est aussi belle que moi! (she is as beautiful as me!)," he erupted. "Her bright eyes, her flawless hair, her perfect nose, right down to her rosy cheeks…it all resembles all of mua!" France animatedly threw the terrified child up and down.

"Messieurs, I believe I have found my long lost sister!" he cried.

Austria and Switzerland wheezed. "Pfft…in your dreams..."

Spain removed the tape from his mouth and darted over to the two. "Oi France! Let me hold her too!" He took one look at the weeping little girl and joined France's sparkle party.

"How adorable! He looks just like Romano from way back then," Spain gushed taking out a picture of ChibiRomano from his back pocket. Romano smacked his hand away and caught the prehistoric photo. He ripped it into little pieces. "Are you blind? That's _obviously _a girl, idiota! And what are you doing comparing _me_ to that little brat!"

Hungary popped out from behind the two and chuckled darkly. "I didn't know you carried pictures of Romano, Mr. Spain…" Spain merrily joined her, completely missing the point.

England was reaching over China and Hong Kong's shoulders for his little one. His height did not help one bit. "Stay away from her pedos!"

"Ah oui, she would make a wonderful French territory!"

"Oi! Who said _you _of all people could keep her!" interjected Spain. Romano made an obnoxious huff. "Hmph! Why on earth would any of you want a monello like her! I mean just look at her, she looks absolutely useless!"

"Just like how you used to be, da?" a country commented calmly. Romano was about to fling a bunch of tomatoes to whoever said that when he saw that it was Russia. He stopped halfway and stiffened. The scarf-wearing Russian eyed him sinisterly. "Excuse you, da?" Russia smiled holding his favorite weapon, the pick axe.

"Ahhhh! Help me Spain!" Romano ran around with Russia darting behind.

Spain, however, remained focused on the little girl. "Mmm…not right now mi amigo…c'mon France! Just let me hold her!"

("Spain you jerk! Oh no, its Russiaaaaa-aghhh!")

"Désolé, she is mine."

By this time, the toddler was bawling; tears staining her cheeks.

"Please, all of you stop crowding her. You will suffocate her with your…unintelligent…egos." Japan apparently got over his reverse cultural shock. He took out a bento filled with mochi ice cream and handed a pink one to her. She stopped crying in an instant and shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"It is all better now, ne?" She munched on another and nodded. The others gave a look of disdain before running out of the room. They all came back in an instant carrying bowls, trays, and plates of their countries' cuisine delicacies.

France shoved Japan out of the way sporting his elegant looking dish. "I have délicieux food too, mon cher," he said presenting his country's renowned French crepe and Clafouti. Before she could even take some, Spain elbowed France in the face causing the French to fall over face down on his luxurious food.

"Have some churros, hermana," he grinned and offering her the fried pastry. She greedily munched it. By the time she was done, China and Hong Kong were in front of her holding a tray.

"No, do not eat any of that trash, aru. This is obviously better aru," pronounced China. Hong Kong handed her slices of tang zhong bread and pai bao.

"Spaghetti or pastaaa~?" Italy waved his dishes in the background.

"How about some Vodka?" offered Russia, who was holding a several bottles in his arms.

"She's under aged, you buffoon!"

"Alright, who said that, da?"

"Fools! The kid obviously wants cheese," Switzerland shouted rolling a wheel of Swiss cheese into the room.

America and England yelled from the top of their lungs behind the mass of countries. "No! Don't eat any of those! There's probably sleeping powder on those things!"

Suddenly, the door of the conference room busted open and a conceited looking Prussia stood in front of the splinters of wood.

"Whoa! Vat are you doing here brother?" Germany bellowed amass the commotion in the room.

"Ha! I beat you all! I'll pay two million for that child!" he arrogantly stated.

France gawked at Prussia and replied, "Zen I'll pay 2.5 million for her!"

"Three million euros!"

"Four million Rubles."

"Ehh…let's see…4.5 Renminbi?"

"By any chance do you accept credit cards here?"

"She's absolutely not for sale you bloody gits!" England argued. While the nations rambled on with their bidding war, the little country wandered away from the circle.

"I wonder where mister America is…," the child pondered. She looked back at the crowd where she previously was and saw the man the others called England. However, she was unwilling to go back into that chaotic area.

She luckily bumped into Italy who was preparing Bolognese sauce for the pasta.

"Well hello there, sorella. My name's Italy. Would you like some pasta?" Italy offered. She smiled at the nice man and took the plate of Bolognese spaghetti. In a couple of minutes, they were having a wonderful time slurping the mouthwatering pasta.

Back to the mob of countries, America finally reached the center of the crowd where he supposed the little country would be trapped in. He frantically looked around to rescue his awesome micro nation. "Dudes, where in the name of Texas is my little girl?"

"Oh, bon travail, Spain…scaring it away with your abominable churros…"

"What are you talking about France? You are the one with the creepy expressions."

"Would you all stop calling the child an 'it'?" Austria said. "It is simply rude not to mention discourteous."

"Well, I don't know it- I mean, her name so I had no choice. Speaking of names, does the child even have one?" asked France. The countries looked puzzled for a minute.

"Now that you mention it…" England began. "…We've forgotten about giving her one in the first place," finished America.

France sneered mockingly at the two. "Seriously Angleterre, how pathetic of you and hamburger man to forget about naming her. Ah…very well then. As the adult here, I shall help you name her. From hence forth, she shall be…Francesca! Oui, I like it! It's very original and has a nice ring to it…Francesca Bonnefoy!" France exclaimed blowing a kiss to the sky.

Everybody rejected it immediately.

"Why don't we name her Antonia-"started Spain.

"Absolutely not! We shall name it…Prussia Jr."

"For the last time, it's a girl! And not in your lifetime, idiot." Hungary smacked Prussia in the side of the head, gaining an instant knock out.

"I got it!" the American finally said smacking his fist on his open palm. "I've considerately combined mine and Iggy's name and came up with… Erica!" He burst out laughing at his ingenious idea. England though, was unamused.

"Arsehole, that's technically the last five letters of your name!" (Am-Erica, get it?)

"I don't suppose you have a better name then?" the blue eyed man mused. England was silent for a while.

"Erica it is then," America declared making it official. England and the others let out a groan but tolerated the American. It's not like he would listen to them anyway. Arguing with the American would just lead them back to square one.

England's arms were propped up on the table; his head was leaning against his hands. He felt his small yank in his pants and looked down to see the little country offering him some kind of pasta. She stood on her toes and to extend the pasta on the fork to the blonde man. England smiled and ate the pasta from the shaky kid's hand.

"Why thank you, that was awfully nice of you," he replied ruffling the girl's dark hair. She giggled and pointed at him, "Pa-Pasta! I-Igi-ri-suu!"

The Brit's face lit up at this. "Splendid! How did you learn that? But anyway, my name is England, not Igirisu. Don't listen to that stupid American."

"Ah Sorella, there you are! I was afraid you had left. Want some more pasta?" Italy popped out of nowhere and friendly hugged the child from behind.

"M-hmm!" she agreed.

"Sorella?" England looked at Italy.

"Sì, she is my darling sorella," Italy replied. The little girl clapped her hands. "Sì sì! So-re-lla!"

England protectively carried her away from Italy. "No, no, love, your name is Erica Kirkland now. Not that Italian rubbish."

"HAHAHA! You mean Erica F. Jones right?" America shouted.

She furiously shook her head. She pointed to Italy who went back to eating pasta. "Furatello Itaria (Fratello Italy), Sorella," she tried explaining to the dumbfounded adults.

A bell tower tolled in the distance signaling lunch. Almost all at once, the countries began excusing themselves. France and Spain were left behind in the conference room searching up and down for the missing little country. They were totally unaware that the child was safely rushed out of the room with America and England.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you have it folks! (It annoys the holy heck out of me that this chapter seems very long...well I think it is...You see, I like creating short chapters because I have short attention span when I read super long ones. That's part of the reason why I got hooked on Hetalia. 5 minute episodes with a lot of LOL moments.)<strong>

**Alright a few random notes for the story:**

**-Props on _AwesomeEraser _for suggesting the little country's name. Just so you know, her official name is now Erica K. (for Kirkland) Jones. **

**-I feel like this chapter is kind of messy. Hmmm...I gotta work on keeping it in order with several characters in a story.  
><strong>

**-I had a surprisingly great time searching up all of the foods, currency, etc. from all the different countries. Haha, especially Switzerland.  
><strong>

**-And last but certainly not least, I would like for you all to know that I am very grateful for your reviews. I truly appreciate it. I'm glad you guys like it and think its funny. **

**And now for a simple riddle... **

_My father is French and I am above my brother._  
><em>Who am I?<em>**  
><strong>


	5. Ikkyou

** 5th Chapter and still going strong! Oh yeah! (╯°O°）╯ I'm totally pumped that I've gotten so far without suffering from a deadly case of writers block. I can only hope my immunity on this story will last for at least 3 or 4 more chapters, at the most... This chapter feels a little awkward for me since I worked on and off on it. I mean, I had _plenty_ of time to write this but, unfortunately, I found myself addicted to playing Solitaire on my laptop. Yup, so that's my excuse for updating so late. I could go on a long rant about it but I'm just going to let you read. Enjoy! **

**(I apologize again for the story being so long, I try really hard to keep it under 3,000 so it wouldn't be so long and boring to read, but it's getting harder and harder for me to keep it that way)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Ikkyou<strong>

It's been several weeks since Erica came to stay with America. However, England hesitated letting the reckless American take care of the little country. He insistently coaxed America that he (being the more responsible of the two) should take care of the child for a little while; at least until she was old enough to fend for herself. America just brushed him off and replied that he was fairly capable of taking care of a little kid.

"I mean, seriously, how hard can it be to raise a child?" the bright eyed man reasoned to the worrywart.

England's response was an exasperated: "You have no idea…"

"I can totally take care of it, dude. You got nothin' to worry about while I'm here," America assured him. Nevertheless, England visited the two occasionally, by that of course, he obviously meant every day. This is an average day in Mr. America's household.

The mornings started out with a toasty breakfast. America would be in the kitchen frying bacon and eggs while reading the daily newspaper. Slices of toasts would occasionally pop out of the toaster beside him and he would catch it effortlessly with a plate. He sipped his coffee now and then, flipping the almost cooked eggs. At around eight o'clock, breakfast was prepared. He placed three plates on the table and got out a huge pitcher of orange juice and milk. America's next step was to wake up _his_ little sleeping beauty.

The young man slowly crept into the room and silently onto the bed. He could scarcely make out the little girl's dark hair just over the heavy blankets. Her eyes were still dreamily closed. Her arms were hugging an oversized pillow and she was drooling a little bit. America lightly shook the girls shoulder. "Breakfast is ready princess," he said smoothly.

Not a single stir.

"Aw c'mon Erica. Wakey wakey!" America cooed enthusiastically.

Still nothing…

America opened the curtains and the blinds, permitting the welcoming sunshine to flow into the dark room. His attempt was sadly in vain for the child simply sunk in deeper under the covers to elude the brightness of the sun.

He heaved out a sigh and smiled. "Alright…seems like I don't have a choice after all…" he stated. And with that, he jumped onto the bed and tackled the figure hiding beneath the covers with a barrage of tickles. A little girl emerged laughing and frantically trying to avoid her attacker's attacks. America continued tickling her mercilessly until tears formed on her sandy eyes.

"Awake yet?" he threatened chuckling. Erica shook her head, a smiled plastered on her face she replied, "No, don't wanna."

"Haha, okay…you asked for it…" He reached out to tickle her again but Erica managed to pounce on him in a moment. The two super countries wrestled each other like two playful puppies. America, being the older country, had the upper hand of course, but he let her win anyway. She emerged the victor as she pulled America's arm over his back and flipped him over to the other side of the bed. America, who was not expecting that, gave out an earsplitting, "Owww!" Erica giggled at his _seemingly _exaggerated agony. With one swipe, America successfully carried the toddler out of the bedroom.

Right about this time, around eight thirty, England would faithfully show up on America's door carrying his English newspaper to join the two for breakfast. He also brought along tea packets in his pant pockets for obvious reasons. England preferred drinking his tea rather than that boorish American coffee any day.

"Good morning Erica," greeted England. The sun reflected his honey golden hair and his eyes held an uncommon cheerfulness to its green irises.

"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "So-re-lla," she pointed at herself. "My na-name is So-re-lla."

England rolled his eyes, playing along. "Sure…"

As usual, he was overjoyed to see the little girl. Before all of this, he had an almost permanent frown or scowl imbedded on his face in the morning. He never admitted it to anyone, but it seemed pointless to have to wake up at all. Having to deal with every day politics, going to world conferences that always amounted in chaos, not to mention having nobody to share his honest thoughts with, well, it just drove him insane for most days.

During those tiresome mornings, all England could do to make his morning somewhat cheerful was to reminisce his golden days. His admirable days of noble and hopeful beginnings. Adventure hung around every corner of the globe when once he explored its seas on his pirate ship. Piles upon piles of gold and precious jewels littered the ground he stood on. The intense memories of savoring the exhilaration and pride that coursed through his veins on his wars and battles. But those days were long gone. Gone and packed away into an elusive memory; impossible to forget, yet too miserable to remember.

But back to the present, England now loved to start his mornings seeing the child's smile plastered upon her lovely face. If he could, he would love to have stolen every single one that graced upon her face, but he knew he couldn't have. Not with that bugger America in the way. Speaking of America, that bastard was carrying _his _little girl on his shoulders again. Wasn't the bastard afraid that _his _precious Erica would fall off and get hurt or even, god forbid it, die?

Okay maybe, just _maybe _he was overreacting a little bit…

England was about to take action when the two went into the kitchen. He relaxed his shoulders a little bit. Lately, he's been noticing the fact that he turns tense whenever America lays just as much of a finger on his precious girl. His blood just boiled whenever that man got too close to her. England stopped his train of thoughts before it got too far away from him.

"No…there's no way…hehe…there's no way in bloody hell that I'm turning into a pedo like that stupid frog…why did I even think about that in the first place…" England waved his thoughts out dismissively and followed America and Erica.

After a hearty breakfast, compliments to Chef Alfred, everyone had a nice time in the couch watching old reruns of SpongeBob Squarepants. Right when the theme song started, a picture of a pirate showed up and America pointed at it.

"Look Sorella-I mean Erica! That's Igirisu from 2,000 years ago!" America and Erica started hooting with laughter.

"What! That looks nothing like me!" the Brit retorted, completely offended.

"Hmm…you're right!"

"Of course I'm right, you bloody gi-!"

"It's missing your hideous eyebrows!" America erupted with laughter once more. However, this time it earned him a smack in the back of the head.

"Why you!" they broke out together. By the time the show's intro was half over the two were strangling each other in the floor while Erica continued watching the moronic animated sponge.

Right in the middle of the brawl, England subconsciously checked his watch.

"Crap! I don't have time for this. I really have to go now," England cried. He scooped up the little girl and kissed her forehead lightly. "I got to run, love. I'll be back again a little later," he told her. She nodded as if she understood him.

"And be careful around that idiot over there. Try not to learn anything from him while I'm gone okay?" England added. America grudgingly stole her away from the Brit and shooed him away to the door with his free hand.

"Yeah, yeah, get out already, dumbass," he said continuing the shooing motion with his hand. England looked at him sternly putting his shoes on. "I swear to God America, if I find a single scratch on that kid when I get back I am going to make you wish you were never born."

"Pffft. As if _I _would let something happen to her," he replied coolly. America was one hundred-no, one _thousand _percent confident with his babysitting skills. He pushed England out the door.

"Cheerios!"

"Yeah, yeah, we all love that cereal," America said impatiently tapping his foot.

"Bai bai I-giri-su!" Erica waved from America's arms.

"Oh, and my name is England. Not Igiri-," America slammed the door before he could finish his sentence. He turned to the little girl in his arms and grinned. Adjusting his glasses he said out with, "How 'bout we do something fun today?"

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><p>America pedaled steadily. Erica was in the basket up front on the bike. She held on and squealed with delight, soaking in the wonderful sun. The nice, cool breeze was brushing her face. America couldn't help but widen his grin. He was glad she was enjoying herself. America scarcely rode his bike out in a day like this, because he figured: why settle being outdoors when he could either be playing one of Japan's video games or watching tv…or something along those lines. However, today he felt his enthusiasm bubbling up inside him, way too immense to be contained in his stuffy house, so he decided to take his little country outside. Besides, he felt like he needed a bit of sun too, and he could spend time and hopefully teach the toddler a thing or two about the path to a super-sized life.<p>

"Okay Sorella, I mean Erica. Gosh, Italy's little pet name for you is really rubbing off on me… Anyways, today your daddio is going to teach you the guidelines of being a totally awesome nation. Rule numero uno," America indicated, "is to have fun anywhere as much as possible. Don't be afraid to chase after what you really want."

The bike screeched into a stop as the two arrived in a park. Kids and adults alike were strewn all over the recreational compound. There was a game engaging in the soccer fields. Teems of kids eagerly ran up to the ball kicking it back and forth to each other. A couple was flirting with each other on one of the benches. A family was setting up a picnic by one of the old oak trees. An old lady was sitting on the farthest bench by a sparkling fountain reading a book. Children played in the playground, taking turns on the slide and the jungle gym.

Erica gleamed. She looked about ready to hop out of the basket. The little girl tugged America's shirt. "Ah-mi..Ah-meri-ca. Sorella want play there!" She pointed at the swings by the playground.

"Hahaha! Alright kiddo," said America. He picked up child and placed her on his shoulders again. She instinctively clasped America's hair to keep from falling off as he arranged his bike onto one of the bike racks.

America ran over to where the swings yelling "Yeehaw!" childishly with Erica. Several people turned and stared at the bizarre grown up. Erica waved at them innocently.

America set her down on one of the swings. She held onto the rails as America pushed her from behind. "Whee!" giggled the toddler as she went up higher and higher.

"Man, you're so adorable! I totally gotta take a picture!" America snorted getting his phone out. "I'd love to see France's face after I show him this sweet pic. He's gonna be totally jealous and he'd wish he was me….Say cheese Sorel-I mean, Erica!"

"Pastaa~" she shouted.

"Great. Hehe…that'll show him…select…and send!" the proud American exclaimed sending the picture to France's phone. Suddenly, an ice cream cart appeared strolling by. Almost immediately, kids flocked to the poor vendor nearly sabotaging the man but more importantly the ice cream pushcart. "Aiya!"

America's eyes sparkled and he started drooling a little bit. "I'll be right back, dude. Just stay there, kay?"

He sprinted to the ice cream cart, trampling over some of the kids. They were like rabid dogs under him; biting and scratching, and even frothing, for their ice cream. The young man was hard and determined for the cold, sugary goodness though, and he fought his way to the very front of the line. He emerged pushing back a couple of boys out of the way.

"One chocolate and one strawberry ice cream, bro," he huffed. The little kids were starting to throw rocks at his head and he was having a really hard time dodging them with the entire kid population holding his waist down.

"Chocolate and strawberry coming up, aru," said the irritated vendor. America got a good look at the vendor from under his straw hat.

"China! That you dawg?" America asked. China looked up at him and tried to avoid his gaze awkwardly. "That will be three dollars, aru," he said handing them to the American.

America watched him interrogatively but said nothing. Reaching into his front pocket, he pulled out twenty dollar bill. "Got any change for a twenty?" he grinned sheepishly. China sighed out of frustration and opened his fanny pack.

"Yī…èr…sān…sì…" he counted the bills slowly. By this time, the children's parents were rolling up their sleeves ready to beat the tar out of the young American.

"Keep the change bro!" America called back as he high tailed on out of the bloodthirsty mob. He slowly walked back to the swings. "Hey guess what Sorella? I think I just saw China over there…."

He stopped to find no Erica there.

"Holy shit! Where'd you go!" he panicked almost dropping the ice cream cones. He frantically looked all around the playground, the slides, and did a double take back to the swings. Finding nothing, he slumped on one of the park benches.

Suddenly his blood ran cold as an awful thought filled his head. Was it possible that those voracious ice cream brats took her away to execute her in one of their secret underground sandbox torcher dungeon for revenge? Vengeance that _he _had possibly created and deserved instead. Images of his precious princess being bullied and poked by pointy ice cream cones and pointy toothed imps filled his head. He also had a nagging idea that the parents were associated with it too! All this thinking was especially hard on America, since he didn't bother to think about things other than himself.

Talk about being egocentric (for the most part)…

"Fuck…what if those little monsters harm her because of me? Not only that, but I'm totally screwed if England finds out…" he rattled on. "I swear, I'll kick their little asses if I…" America paused when he caught sight of Erica, her back to him, peering at the fountain which was (by the way) directly in front of him.

"There you are! Oh god, I'm so glad I found you. You seriously scared the crap outta me! I thought someone jumped you or something!" he bellowed but happily spun the child. She looked back at him with a puzzled look. Then she saw the ice cream and literally swiped it from him. "Yummy…" Erica gushed. And so, America and Erica sat together in the bench pigging out on ice cream.

"Okay dude, onto the second rule: don't hesitate to fight back if you have a good justified reason. That's how heroes like me are born, and justice is not a matter that's too hard to understand."

With one big bite, America finished his chocolate ice cream.

"Check this out kid!" He crushed the ice cream cone and threw it all over the ground. In an instant, pigeons and other birds scuttled on to where the pieces were thrown, pecking hungrily. Erica stared wide eyed at the birds biting the little bits of ice cream cone. "Uwahhh!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" said America turning back to look the child. She nodded enthusiastically.

Erica excitedly got up from the bench and started chasing some of the birds. Quite a few flew away and kept their distance as the child trailed behind their tracks. As it was, the crumbs became less and less and the pigeons started flying away.

"Wait Birdy!" Erica cried. She hastily took a piece off of her unfinished ice cream cone and threw it at the last departing bird. The pigeon spotted it right away and came back to peck on it.

"Look birdy!" she called back to America. America pushed back his glasses proudly and gave a big thumbs up in return. The child was so overjoyed with the results that she broke off another piece and threw it to other birds that came back. This kept on for a while and she started straying farther away from the benches.

America, who was more alert this time, trailed behind her. Just as she was about to throw another piece, Erica looked up to see a boy, and from the looks of it he was probably six or seven years old. He was carrying a mischievous sneer as he looked back down at the younger child before him.

"What cha got there?" he started in a mocking tone. Erica innocently smiled and stared back at him. She was so happy that she found someone else to play with. "Ice cream…birdies!" she replied offering her melting strawberry ice cream to the boy. America was smiling too; glad that she made friends.

The boy made a nasty expression and slapped the ice cream away from the little girl's hand. "Eww…no way! It's all melted and gross," he commented conceitedly.

The little girls smile faded away as she stared at her poor unfinished ice cream in the ground. America walked over to her, afraid that she was going to start crying any minute. She was shuddering uncontrollably and a wave of gloom spread across her face.

"You big meanie!" she screamed.

Then, suddenly, Erica kicked the boy's leg and sent him flying literally right out of the park from the force. Parents around the fountain stared at the little girl, baffled. A fat, curly red headed woman burst out of the crowd searching for his "precious" son in the sky. "Oh no! What the world happened!" she shrieked.

A kid by her nonchalantly stated, "Johnny flew away up there." The kid pointed up at the sky grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, he was totally okay with it. In fact, he was glad to have gotten rid of the playground brat.

America stood gleaming amongst the crowd. He was so proud of his little girl inheriting his super human strength and his awesome sense of justice. Yup, she was _definitely_ learning something from him…

America was basking in on all the glory of a proud parent while all the other parents searched up and down for the missing boy. He felt a tap on his back and turned back to see the fat old lady sending him a fearsome glare.

"I believe your abnormal little girl is responsible for all of this…" she hissed, invisible poison spewing out from the words.

America picked up Erica who was still scowling after the whole ice cream scene. The blonde beamed indifferently and reasoned, "Kids will be kids, ya know?"

The lady erupted with rage. "Are you a little crazy in the head! Any sensible person in the world can tell that that…abomination is not ordinary _"kid"_! I suggest you- Hey! Get back here! I'm gonna report you all to the police!" She never got to finish her sentence because America and Erica were already riding cheerfully away on the bike.

"The third rule is all about liberty. Feel free to walk out of a situation that is restraining your freedom and peace of mind. Now to sum it up, the rules to becoming as awe-inspiring as me are hard, but all you gotta remember is to believe in your…umm…you know…life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, and all that other good stuff." Erica simply nodded in agreement.

When they got home, the two countries collapsed in the couch and dedicated the rest of their day to video games and barbeque chips.

England returned to America's house at about six o'clock that afternoon. He was carrying Chinese take outs because he figured that America would be too lazy and would have forgotten to make dinner. England would have very much preferred to eat something he cooked but he knew that America would surely complain about his food and England just didn't have the patience to deal with it at the moment.

He was dead tired from working in his office signing and filing countless papers. He didn't even get to eat lunch because his crabby secretary decided it would be funny to screw him by dumping her workload onto his. To make it even worse, France and Prussia stood just outside his office, peeking through their binoculars at his office window. When he went to close the shutters England saw them holding up bidding signs ranging up to the millions. He slammed the window shut muttering curses. As for Spain, the phone relentlessly rang and he would ask with his happy go lucky voice about the little girl and where she was staying and what kind of food she liked and when he could come over to see her. This went on for about a half an hour before England totally lost it and chucked his office telephone out the window. Much to his demise, the phone whacked his boss right in the head and his month's salary was completely eradicated. Not to mention he had to pay for getting a new telephone. Talk about a stressful day…

And just as England predicted, America and the small child were absorbed in a video game. Erica was already expertly skimming through the buttons of the controller, eyes glued to the tv like a fixed zombie.

"I'm here!" he called taking his shoes off. No response from the two.

"I've brought Chinese for dinner!" The duo continued clicking buttons. Exhaling loudly, England pulled out the video game's plug. America and Erica blinked their eyes as if released from a trance.

"Is this what you've been doing all day?" England lectured. His eyes were ablaze and a menacing aura radiated from the Brit. America was about to open his mouth but kept closed it, knowing that anything he'd say would be critically shot down. In these super rare cases when America would not speak, England was totally pissed off.

"Did you even remember to feed her lunch?" he continued. His hands were on his hips as he stared down America.

"Pshaw! 'Course I did! We ate a lotta barbeque chips and soda…and besides, did you see how beast she was with-."

"For the love of-…potato crisps and cola are not considered lunch! Fact of the matter is that those… rubbish are not even proper nourishment to give to a toddler! What kind of a guardian are you? I don't even think I can trust you to take care of her anymore!" yelled England.

"But-"

"Don't but me, you git! I was foolish to think that you of all people could-," England paused. Erica was hugging his leg and tears cascading silently from her watery eyes. England's eyes softened.

"I-I'm sorry. Please don't yell at him…p-please don't get mad…," Erica pleaded. The two men watched guiltily as she continued sobbing. Finally, England picked her up. He wiped the tears on her eyes and stroke her hair lovingly.

"I'm not mad at you, love. I'm just worried for your wellbeing here…and I just don't think that America's suited for taking care of you…" he said.

America looked away guiltily and began picking up the litter on the floor. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong. In fact, he thought everything was going pretty well the whole day. I mean, sure, he _almost_ lost the girl in the park and _probably _got a report from that old hag, and _slightly_ forgot to eat lunch, but he… he… didn't do anything to cause her any harm. He just wanted her to have fun and laugh. But if he really was being too careless, then he supposed that England should be the one to take care of her…

"No! Sorella like America! Don't wanna leave him!" The child's sudden outburst surprised America. She wriggled away from England and scurried to America.

"Don't wanna go!"

England furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. "You can't be serious? You _actually _want to stay with him?" Erica nodded her head and held on to America. Determination blazed in her eyes as she stared back at the Brit. England sighed.

"I don't know about this…"

"I'll take better care of her Igirisu. I promise!" America said. His blue eyes were also surging from ultimate resolution. Green and blue irises locked on each other before England finally gave in.

"Very well then, Alfred. However, this is the last strike. I'm taking her with me for good if I see this kind of behavior again," England countered firmly. Erica and America exploded with happiness. "Don't worry princess, I won't let you down this time."

The three countries joyfully ate their take our dinners. America narrated his day to England casually and the British man was wide-eyed the whole time.

* * *

><p>❀<em><strong>EXTRA: Pirates and Superhero Cowboys!<strong>_❀

The three countries joyfully ate their take our dinners. America narrated his day to England casually and the British man was wide-eyed the whole time.

England went back to his car for one of his prized possessions. He came back carrying a big green box that looked so worn out and ancient that one would have guessed that it dated back to prehistoric times. America peeked curiously from the couch and Erica stumbled towards England to get a better look.

The British man grinned smugly and removed the lid of the box. Dust and dirt blew out of the ancient box and plugged the air. After the filthy powder cleared, Erica found England holding a large flamboyant hat. It was great as it was detailed. The hat was dyed a royal, crimson red. It had plumes of green and black feathers encircling one side and tiny gold threads bordered the hat's interior base. Although depleted with age and dust, the hat still had its magnificent demeanor. England blew the dust away from his old friend with a recollecting glint in his sparkling green eyes.

"I brought my old pirate hat to show you Erica," he said declared. England held it up proudly as the little country stared in awe. He placed it on his head taking in all the glory from his golden days.

"Wow…pirate Igirisu!" Erica exclaimed. America came over with a big frown on his face. "I didn't know you still have that old _thing_…"

"Aye, they use to call me Captain Kirkland of Great Britain back then. Ye should have seen me back then, Erica. I was the most feared pirate of the seven seas back then. Buccaneers and buckos alike feared to come across my ship's Jolly Roger. Aye, and I tell ye, I was the handsomest one around too. Yes siree, matey," England alleged speaking in his sea tongue. Erica skipped onto his chest yelling "Aye matey!"

America rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, keep talking Captain Crunch. C'mon Erica let's do something _actually_ fun." The little girl didn't budge and kept playing with England.

**_To be continued in the next chapter…_**

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter seems utterly pointless<strong>**, but I guess it's what you call a filler. Chapter 6 is already on the way. Hopefully I can publish it by the end of the next week...? Hmm...we'll see. Author Notes:**

✜** I had to change the rating of the story because of this chapter. Curse words and such. -rolls eyes-**

✜ **Yes, I am well aware that Erica seems to become a "mary sue-ish" type, but remember she's just a little kid for now. She will grow up and...err...stuff will happen...(yeah...let's leave it to that. Also, America calls Erica "Sorella" now. Haha, I got hooked on the name and now I can't stop thinking about it. Stupid Italy. So yeah, think of it as a nickname for her. **

✜ **I intended to make this chapter even longer but I thought long and hard about it and saved the rest for the upcoming chapter. **

**✜ Okay, so since I obviously can't put every filler/fun stuff that England, America, and Erica do into the main plot line, I'll just put little extras at the end of every chapter. I have a LOT of ideas so that's where I'll dump them all. Hehe..what did you think about the whole pirate and cowboy extra?  
><strong>

✜ **Last note: Thank you guys sooo much for leaving reviews. They're really fun to read and it just gives me the incentive to keep writing! Please keep reviewing and tell me about your thoughts about the story. I would love to improve with the help of your suggestions and ideas. **


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